Saturday, August 31, 2013

Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?

Sometimes a Mai Tai just isn't exotic enough. Sometimes, you need a drink to show how hard core you are when you're traveling abroad.

Really, there is only one answer: a tall glass of snake wine.

For such a bizarre beverage, it's actually pretty simple; it's rice or grain alcohol, with the added benefit a snake or two in the bottle, typically highly venomous snakes like cobras.

This concoction is common in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam and is frequently sold as a cure-all. The snake venom and assorted juices mingle with the liquor, which is drunk in shot glasses due to its high alcohol content. Though it should be pointed out that the venom is presumably neutralized by the alcohol, making it safe to drink. Also, the snake inside is rarely eaten, unlike the mythical tequila worm.

Snake wine is used to cure everything from hair lose to poor eyesight and is even said to improve virility. Comparisons to snake oil are presumably unwelcome.

Generally, there are two ways to produce a bottle of the stuff. The most obvious method is take a whole snake and drop it in whatever bottle of rice liquor you have handy, with garnishes like medicinal herbs or other, smaller snakes. But some prefer to include just a select few bodily fluids like blood or the contents of a gall bladder. In any case it doesn't change the fact that you're basically drinking fermented snake juice.

Of course it's not just snakes. There's a wonderful variety of venomous animals you can buy immersed in their own brine (though you can't export them to most countries). Besides snakes there's tarantulas, scorpions, seahorses and even pangolins; all of them staring at you from the other side of the bottle. Judging you.

With that in mind I don't think anyone would judge you if you stuck with a Mai Tai.